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Visual Predation Hypothesis(Cartmill 1970) o Noted that squirrels are very well adapted to living in trees but lack these 3 primate traits n n Have claws, eyes on side of head, fingers and toes are prehensile He argued that rather than being for arboil living, forward facing eyes and grasping hands in particular were better explained as adaptation for catching prey especially insects and smaller animals He noted that this is among the superpredators like owls and cats that you also find forward facing eyes and grasping abilities Among these species they are like grappling hooks than precision tools o Problems with the Visual Predation hypothesis One species adapts to a habitat in a specific way, does not mean that all species living in that habitat need to adapt in that same way Primates don’t have to look like squirrels to live in trees Birds and bats fly but bats didn’t evolve and get beaks or feathers There are different ways that species can inhabit similar habitats o Secondly,because two species share similar traits,does not mean they will share similar adaptations in habitats Deer and sheep, are hooked animals with antlers or horns but they have different habitats o The older hypothesis makes sense Generalized Body Plan o Most grouns of animals have verv specialized bodv plans